Following a three-year vacancy, the top natural science prize at China's annual national science awards was given for the discovery and research of iron-based compounds that can be used as high-temperature superconductors on January 10.

Superconductivity refers to a phenomenon where electrons travel with no resistance when a conducting material, known as a superconductor, is cooled below a certain temperature.

With a range of cutting-edge technological applications, superconductivity has become a part of daily life, from boosting cell phone signals to offering medical imaging.

At the award ceremony, leading project contributors, including Zhao Zhongxian and Chen Xianhui, received the 200,000-yuan ($33,040) prize on behalf of their research team with the Institute of Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Science and Technology.

Most superconductors only work at temperatures close to 0 K, or 273.15 degrees Celsius below zero—the lowest temperature possible, known as absolute zero.

The discovery marked a new "family" of iron-based superconducting materials that lift the highest temperature for resistance-free flow to 55 K, Chen said.

Blast Investigation

China's top work safety watchdog unveiled a full investigation report on January 11 regarding a fatal pipeline blast that claimed 62 lives in the eastern city of Qingdao, Shandong Province, on November 22, 2013.

The primary cause of the accident was that drilling operation by repair staff produced sparks that led to an explosion fuelled by oil leaked from a pipeline owned by a subsidiary of Sinopec, the country's largest oil refiner, according to the report compiled by a special investigation group set up by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The blast also injured another 136 people and caused a direct economic loss of 752 million yuan ($124 million), the report revealed.

A total of 63 people will be penalized, with 48 of them to receive punishments for violating Party and administrative disciplines and 15 others being transferred to judicial bodies for further judgment on their alleged crimes, the report added.

Desalinated Sea Ice

China will soon begin production of large amounts of fresh water through the desalination of sea ice, according to a Beijing Normal University research team and Beijing Huahaideyuan Technology Co. Ltd. The two organizations signed a technology transfer agreement on January 14.

The company is expected to be able to produce at least 1 billion cubic meters of fresh water annually by 2023, according to Yu Jian, Executive President of Huahaideyuan.

China's sea ice desalination program started in 1996 and has received a total of 29.7 million yuan ($4.88 million) in funding from various government departments since then.